Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Today is a special countdown that proves that rock and roll never dies. As the 80s were ending, there were songs that didn’t ever become official hit songs, like AC/DC's Thunderstruck. It didn’t even make the Hot 100 charts, but it's now over 6 billion plays and has outperformed every number one hit of the year it came from.In fact it’s has 4 times as many streams as any hit from the year and it started out as a throwaway guitar exercise. Plus, the song World in My Eyes that Depeche Mode's frontman Dave Gahan had been recording with his band was a fast song, but he had to leave the studio for a few days, and while he was gone, the band took that fast song and slowed the temp down to a crawl… When he got back, he was livid, but once he started singing… the song became a classic. Then there was the La's who had a big hit, There She Goes, and a future that looked bright, but he threw it all away when he took their recorded album and 35 songs and destroyed the only master tape…Plus, the famous indie band The Sundays, which was climbing the charts and making a name for themselves, just up and disappeared for 30 years, and they’re still missing.
Try ZipRecruiter for FREE with promo code ROCK: ziprecruiter.com/rock
Get your tickets to Professor of Rock Live featuring John Fogerty: playatgila.com/show/an-exclusive-evening-of-stories-and-songs-with-john-fogerty
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Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Kelly Moan, Curtis Stoddard, Paul Duenas, Robert Hickerty, rondell m
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast
Apple: apple.co/445fVov
Spotify: spoti.fi/42JpfvU
Amazon: amzn.to/44b5D6m
iHeartRadio: bit.ly/444h8MO
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Patreon: bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Merch Store: professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com
Instagram: bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock
#classicrock #80smusic #80smusic #rickbeato
Hey Music Junkies, Professor of Rock always here to celebrate the Greatest artists and the greatest songs of all-time if you remember the first time you played ATARI… You’ll DIG this channel of Deep musical nostalgia. What was the first game you played? Let me know in the comments. Make sure you are subscribed, and make sure to like, comment, and share this so we can keep the channel going. We’re starting off our top 10 Non-Hits of 1990, at #10 with a twofer… were turning the spotlight on two songs from a movie soundtrack: “Everybody Knows” by Concrete Blonde and “Wave of Mutilation” by The Pixies: “Everybody Knows”, though originating from Leonard Cohen’s pen and voice, found its fiercest afterlife in Concrete Blonde’s blistering cover. Johnette Napolitano’s gravelly, heart-on-sleeve delivery turned the song into a cigarette-smoked confession, a perfect match for the mood Concrete Blonde was exuding as they rode the peak of their own momentum, right in the middle of releasing music like the fan-favorite Joey.
The track was recorded expressly for the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack, anchoring the film’s closing credits with a dark, rebellious vibe. The movie’s plot entailed a pirate radio DJ tearing down the polished façades of high school authority. “Everybody Knows” was the film’s thematic anthem. I will describe it as a nocturnal kiss-off to hypocrisy and a vote for authenticity in a world where the dice felt loaded, and good guys always seemed to lose. Concrete Blonde’s cover upended expectations, reaching #20 on the Modern Rock chart, turning a Leonard Cohen standard into a Gen X manifesto, and becoming a surprising rival to Concrete Blonde’s own material at the height of their popularity. Although the song had significant airplay on Modern Rock radio, it did not crossover and failed to make the Hot 100.
Another powerful ‘non-hit’ from 1990 that was a vital part of the Pump Up the Volume motion picture soundtrack is “Wave of Mutilation” by The Pixies: This one is a perfect song. “Wave of Mutilation,” written by The Pixies frontman, Black Francis, whose real name is Charles Thompson, grew from a chilling newspaper expose’ about Japanese businessmen who, after an epic business fail, committed a murder-suicide by ferrying their families off a pier into the sea. Unfortunately, this is not a myth. These tragic incidents are frequently linked to what’s called the "shinju" phenomenon, where bankrupt individuals feel that death is the only option, sometimes forcing their families to join them to avoid leaving them in financial & personal misery.
Today is a special countdown that proves that rock and roll never dies. As the 80s were ending, there were songs that didn’t ever become official hit songs, like AC/DC's Thunderstruck. It didn’t even make the Hot 100 charts, but it's now over 6 billion plays and has outperformed every number one hit of the year it came from.In fact it’s has 4 times as many streams as any hit from the year and it started out as a throwaway guitar exercise. Plus, the song World in My Eyes that Depeche Mode's frontman Dave Gahan had been recording with his band was a fast song, but he had to leave the studio for a few days, and while he was gone, the band took that fast song and slowed the temp down to a crawl… When he got back, he was livid, but once he started singing… the song became a classic. Then there was the La's who had a big hit, There She Goes, and a future that looked bright, but he threw it all away when he took their recorded album and 35 songs and destroyed the only master tape…Plus, the famous indie band The Sundays, which was climbing the charts and making a name for themselves, just up and disappeared for 30 years, and they’re still missing.
Try ZipRecruiter for FREE with promo code ROCK: ziprecruiter.com/rock
Get your tickets to Professor of Rock Live featuring John Fogerty: playatgila.com/show/an-exclusive-evening-of-stories-and-songs-with-john-fogerty
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
Kelly Moan, Curtis Stoddard, Paul Duenas, Robert Hickerty, rondell m
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe to the Professor of Rock Podcast
Apple: apple.co/445fVov
Spotify: spoti.fi/42JpfvU
Amazon: amzn.to/44b5D6m
iHeartRadio: bit.ly/444h8MO
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Patreon: bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Merch Store: professor-of-rock-lsn-shop.fourthwall.com
Instagram: bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of_Rock
#classicrock #80smusic #80smusic #rickbeato
Hey Music Junkies, Professor of Rock always here to celebrate the Greatest artists and the greatest songs of all-time if you remember the first time you played ATARI… You’ll DIG this channel of Deep musical nostalgia. What was the first game you played? Let me know in the comments. Make sure you are subscribed, and make sure to like, comment, and share this so we can keep the channel going. We’re starting off our top 10 Non-Hits of 1990, at #10 with a twofer… were turning the spotlight on two songs from a movie soundtrack: “Everybody Knows” by Concrete Blonde and “Wave of Mutilation” by The Pixies: “Everybody Knows”, though originating from Leonard Cohen’s pen and voice, found its fiercest afterlife in Concrete Blonde’s blistering cover. Johnette Napolitano’s gravelly, heart-on-sleeve delivery turned the song into a cigarette-smoked confession, a perfect match for the mood Concrete Blonde was exuding as they rode the peak of their own momentum, right in the middle of releasing music like the fan-favorite Joey.
The track was recorded expressly for the Pump Up the Volume soundtrack, anchoring the film’s closing credits with a dark, rebellious vibe. The movie’s plot entailed a pirate radio DJ tearing down the polished façades of high school authority. “Everybody Knows” was the film’s thematic anthem. I will describe it as a nocturnal kiss-off to hypocrisy and a vote for authenticity in a world where the dice felt loaded, and good guys always seemed to lose. Concrete Blonde’s cover upended expectations, reaching #20 on the Modern Rock chart, turning a Leonard Cohen standard into a Gen X manifesto, and becoming a surprising rival to Concrete Blonde’s own material at the height of their popularity. Although the song had significant airplay on Modern Rock radio, it did not crossover and failed to make the Hot 100.
Another powerful ‘non-hit’ from 1990 that was a vital part of the Pump Up the Volume motion picture soundtrack is “Wave of Mutilation” by The Pixies: This one is a perfect song. “Wave of Mutilation,” written by The Pixies frontman, Black Francis, whose real name is Charles Thompson, grew from a chilling newspaper expose’ about Japanese businessmen who, after an epic business fail, committed a murder-suicide by ferrying their families off a pier into the sea. Unfortunately, this is not a myth. These tragic incidents are frequently linked to what’s called the "shinju" phenomenon, where bankrupt individuals feel that death is the only option, sometimes forcing their families to join them to avoid leaving them in financial & personal misery.
